In the Vioget survey of 1839 the streets were, as has been stated, very
narrow. Vioget ran no east line for Montgomery street and consequently
that street, being completed later, was the widest in the village and was
made sixty-two and a half feet wide. Kearny street was made forty-five
feet, five inches wide, and Dupont street, forty-four feet, this irregularity
being probably due to want of knowledge in regard to the lines and when
buildings were erected the street lines were made, in a degree, to conform.
Kearny street was afterwards widened to seventy-five feet between Market
street and Broadway, and Dupont to seventy-four feet from Market street
to Bush. Vioget laid out five streets running east and west, viz: Pacific,
Jackson, Washington, Clay, and Sacramento. These streets were forty-nine
feet, one and a half inches wide. The Vioget survey was extended some time
before the American occupation to include Stockton and Powell streets on
the west, Broadway and Vallejo on the north, and California, Pine, and
Bush on the south. Stockton and Powell were made sixty-six feet nine inches
wide, Broadway, eighty-two and a half feet, California, eighty-five feet,
and the others sixty-eight feet, nine inches, which became the regulation
width for the main streets of the Fifty vara and the Western addition surveys;
the exceptions being, in addition to California street and Broadway, Van
Ness avenue one hundred and twenty-five feet, and Divisadero street, eighty-two
and a half feet wide. The five westerly streets of the Vioget survey extend
with their narrow width to Larkin street, the limit of the Fifty vara survey,
and from Larkin street they were widened to sixty-eight feet, nine inches,
by taking from the lots on either side. Market street is one hundred and
twenty feet wide, and the main streets of the Hundred vara survey are eighty-two
and a half feet wide. In the Mission the main streets are eighty-two and
a half feet, except Dolores, which is one hundred and twenty; Tenth, Eleventh,
Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Sixteenth streets, which are eighty feet wide
and the streets from Fourteenth to Twenty-sixth inclusive (excepting Sixteenth
street) which are sixty-four feet wide.

I cannot undertake to give the origin of all of the street names in
San Francisco, but can give an account of most of the better known ones.
Many of the names of course, require no explanation, as for instance, the
trees, Cherry, Chestnut, Pine, etc.; natural objects, as Bay, North Point,
and others; the presidents of the United States and statesmen of national
reputation, as Fillmore, Buchanan, Clay, etc.; the names of states and
of counties, and the numbered streets and avenues. In giving an account
of the naming of the streets, I shall again pass beyond the time limit
of this history and bring my account down to date. Prior to 1909, San Francisco
enjoyed the distinction of having three sets of numbered streets and two
sets of streets designated by letters of the alphabet. Two sets of the
numbered streets were called "avenues" and one had the suffix "south";
one set of lettered streets had the same treatment. To remedy this condition,
which was becoming intolerable, the mayor of the city appointed, in 1909,
a commission to look into the matter of street names and recommend such
changes as might be considered necessary. The commission in its report
suggested many changes, most of which were adopted. The commission endeavored
to avail itself of the wealth of material existing in the history of the
city and state, and give to the streets names not only of historical significance
but to add to their attractiveness the liquid beauty of the Spanish nomenclature
of the colonial period. In this the commission was only partially successful,
owing to a general opposition on the part of small tradesmen to having
the names of their streets changed, claiming that they had established
their business under the existing names and having, they said, an "asset"
in the name of the street on which they were.

I will give the streets in order, first, in the Fifty vara survey, then
the Western addition, the Hundred vara survey, and the Mission.

The Fifty vara survey is that part of the city lying between Market
and Larkin streets and the bay. The street on the water front, which, when
completed, will run from the presidio line to the San Mateo county boundary,
was named by the commission of 1909, The Embarcadero (the Landing). That
portion of it within the completed sea wall had been named East street
North, and East street South, according to its extension to the north or
south of Market street. On the Embarcadero the numbers indicate the location
of buildings—odd numbers to the north, and even numbers to the south of
Market street. Next west of the Embarcadero is:

DRUMM street was named for Lieutenant Drum who was adjutant of the department
during the civil war; afterwards adjutant-general of the army.

DAVIS street was named for William Heath Davis at the instance of William
D. M. Howard.

BATTERY street was so named because of the battery erected by Lieutenant
Misroon on Clark's Point.

SANSOME street was originally named Sloat street in honor of the commodore
and it so appears on the alcalde map of 1847; but between February 22d
and July 18th of that year the name was changed to Sansome.

LEIDESDORFF street was named for William A. Leidesdorff.

MONTGOMERY street was named for Commander John B. Montgomery of the
Portsmouth. The name of Montgomery avenue was changed to

COLUMBUS avenue, in honor of Christopher Columbus, by the commission
of 1909, in order to avoid the confusion resulting from two streets bearing
the same name.

KEARNY street was named for Stephen Watts Kearny, military governor
of California, March 1, 1847, to May 31, 1847.

DUPONT street was named for Captain Samuel F. Du Pont, who commanded
the flagship Congress and afterwards the sloop-of-war Cyane. This street
was the original "Calle de la Fundacion" of Richardson and ran from about
the line of California street north-northwest. It was later swung into
line with the other streets by Jasper O'Farrell. The street acquired an
unsavory reputation by becoming the residence of an undesirable class of
citizens. When these disreputable residents were removed some years ago,
the name of the street was changed to

GRANT avenue, by which it is now known.

STOCKTON street was named for Commodore Robert F. Stockton, military
governor of California, August 22, 1846 to January 19, 1847.

POWELL Street is supposed to have been named in honor of Doctor W. J.
Powell, surgeon United States sloop-of-war Warren, conquest of California.

MASON street was named for Richard B. Mason, colonel First dragoons
and military governor of California, May 31, 1847, to April 13, 1849.

TAYLOR street was named for Zachary Taylor, the hero of Buena Vista
and twelfth president of the United States.

JONES street was named for Doctor Elbert P. Jones, first editor of the
California
Star and member of the council of 1847.

LEAVENWORTH street after the Rev. Thaddeus M. Leavenworth, chaplain
First New York regiment; alcalde of San Francisco.

HYDE street after George Hyde, secretary of Commodore Stockton on the
Congress; alcalde of San Francisco.

LARKIN street was named for Thomas O. Larkin, United States consul at
Monterey and secret agent of the government before the conquest.

GREEN street was named for Talbot H. Green who came with the Bartleson
party in 1841 and was a prominent citizen of San Francisco. An account
of him appears in chapter xvii.

VALLEJO street was named for Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo.

HALLECK street was named for Captain Henry Wagner Halleck.

PACIFIC, CLAY, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA and PINE streets require no explanation,
except that Pacific street was originally named for Alcalde Washington
A. Bartlett and the original name of Sacramento street was Howard street,
named for William D. M. Howard. Why these names were changed does not appear.

BUSH street was named, it is said, for Doctor J. P. Bush, an early resident.

SUTTER street was named for John A. Sutter.

POST street was named for Gabriel B. Post who came in 1847; member of
the ayuntamiento of 1849.

GEARY street was named for John W. Geary, first alcalde, 1849-50, and
first mayor under the charter.

O'FARRELL street was named for Jasper O'Farrell.

ELLIS street was named for Alfred J. Ellis who came in 1847; member
of the ayuntamiento of 1849, and of the constitutional convention.

EDDY street was named for William M. Eddy the surveyor. He completed
the survey of the city under the charter of 1850.

TURK street was named for Frank Turk, clerk of the ayuntamiento and
second alcalde.

GOLDEN GATE avenue was originally named Tyler street for John Tyler,
tenth president of the United States, but after the opening of Golden Gate
park the street was asphalted, made the driveway to the park, and the name
changed.

MCALLISTER street was named for Hall McAllister the eminent jurist.

This completes the origin of the streets' names, so far as any explanation
may be necessary, of the Fifty vara survey. The description of the streets
of the Hundred vara survey would perhaps be next in order as these two
surveys comprised the extent of the city as defined by the charter of 1850;
but for convenience I will continue the streets north of Market street,
comprising the Western addition and the adjoining Outside Lands survey.

HAYES street was named for Colonel Thomas Hayes, county clerk from 1853
to 1856. He had a large tract of land in what was known as Hayes' valley
which the Van Ness ordinance confirmed to him. He was one of Terry's seconds
in his duel with Broderick.

PAGE street was named for Robert C. Page, clerk to the board of assistant
aldermen, 1851 to 1856.

HAIGHT street for Fletcher M. Haight, a prominent lawyer of San Francisco
and later United States district judge for the Southern district of California.

WALLER Street for R. H. Waller, city recorder in 1851, also in 1854.

ANZA street (Outside Lands survey) was named by the commission of 1909
in honor of the father of San Francisco, Lieutenant-colonel Juan Bautista
de Anza.

BALBOA street, in honor of the discoverer of the Pacific ocean, Vasco
Nuñez de Balboa.

CABRILLO street, in honor of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo the navigator.

LINCOLN way, in honor of Abraham Lincoln.

IRVING street, for Washington Irving.

J UDAH street, for Theodore D. Judah.

KIRKHAM street, for General Ralph W. Kirkham.

LAWTON street, for General Henry W. Lawton.

MORAGA street, for Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga, founder of
the presidio and mission of San Francisco.

NORIEGA street, for José de la Guerra y Noriega.

ORTEGA street, for José Francisco de Ortega, discoverer of the
Bay of San Francisco.

PACHECO street, for Juan Salvio Pacheco, soldier of Anza's company and
one of the founders of San Francisco.

These names were given by the commission of 1909, not only for the historical
value some of them possess, but to preserve the order of the alphabet,
the streets having been lettered.

POLK street was named for James K. Polk, eleventh president of the United
States.

VAN NESS avenue, for James Van Ness, mayor of San Francisco 1856, and
author of the Van Ness ordinance which confirmed title to the actual possessors
on January 1, 1855, of property west of Larkin street. Mr. Van Ness' residence
was Western addition block 73, bounded by Van Ness avenue, Franklin, Hayes,
and Fell streets.

FRANKLIN street may have been named for Selim Franklin, a pioneer merchant.

GOUGH street was named for Charles H. (Charley) Gough. In 1850 he sold
milk for J. W. Harlan, at four dollars a gallon, carrying it on horseback
in two two and a half gallon cans, one swung on each side of the saddle
pommel. In 1855 he was a member of the board of aldermen and was appointed
on a committee to lay out the streets in the Western addition.

LAGUNA street was named for Washerwomen's lagoon.

OCTAVIA, BUCHANAN, WEBSTER, PIERCE, and SCOTT require no explanation.

STEINER street was probably named for some friend of Alderman Gough.

DIVISADERO street was named for its position: the summit of a high hill.
The name comes from the verb divisar—to descry at a distance. Divisadero:
a point from which one can look far. The Spanish name for Lone mountain
was El Divisadero.

BRODERICK street, for David Colbert Broderick.

BAKER street, for Colonel E. D. Baker.

LYON street, for Nathaniel Lyon, captain of C Troop, 1st dragoons. In
1849 he punished the Indians of Clear Lake for murder and then marched
to the Oregon border to punish the Pitt river Indians for the murder of
Lieutenant Warner and recover his body, which was found near Goose lake.
Lyon, then a general officer, was killed at the battle of Wilson's creek,
Missouri, August 10, 1861.

ARGÜELLO boulevard was named by the commission of 1909 for José
Darío Argüello, comandante of San Francisco, 1785-1806; governor,
ad
interim, 1814-15.

LA PLAYA (The Beach) was the name given by the commission to the street
next to the ocean beach and running parallel with it.

The Hundred vara survey is that part of the city which is south of Market
street and east of Ninth (formerly Johnston) street. South of Ninth street
and extending to Thirtieth is the Mission Dolores, or the Mission, as it
is usually called. The Mission extends from Harrison street on the east
to the hills of the San Miguel rancho (Twin Peaks) on the west. East of
Harrison street is the Potrero Nuevo, extending from Division street on
the north to Islais creek on the south. South of Islais creek is the Potrero
Viejo, commonly called South San Francisco. This extends to the San Mateo
county line. To the west of the Potrero Viejo, or South San Francisco,
are a number of small subdivisions, bearing various names, each having
its own survey.

The street next to the Embarcadero in the Hundred vara survey is

STEUART street, named for William M. Steuart who came as secretary to
Commodore Jones on the line-of-battle ship Ohio in 1848. He was a member
of the ayuntamiento in 1849-50 and chairman of the judiciary committee.
In the records of the ayuntamiento to December 1, 1849, his name is spelled
Stewart. From that date it is Steuart. He was one of the delegates from
San Francisco to the constitutional convention and was, at times, acting
chairman. He was a candidate for governor in the election of November 1849.

SPEAR street was named for Nathan Spear who was one of the earliest
merchants of San Francisco (see chapter xiv) and was upright and honorable
in all his dealings. He died in San Francisco in 1849, at the age of 47.

BEALE street was named for Lieutenant Edward F. Beale, United States
navy. Beale took an active part in the conquest of California serving as
lieutenant with the California battalion; later he was surveyor-general
of the state and at one time United States minister to Austria.

FREMONT street was named for Colonel John C. Frémont.

MARKET street is the dividing line between the Fifty and Hundred vara
surveys, the Western addition, and the Mission Dolores. It runs diagonally,
from northeast to southwest and cuts the city in two. The streets of the
Hundred vara survey, run parallel with, and at right angles to it. The
name was probably suggested by Market street, Philadelphia.

MISSION Street was the first street opened in the southern portion of
the city and followed the road to the mission.

STEVENSON street, between Market and Mission, was named for Jonathan
Drake Stevenson, colonel of the First New York volunteers. The blocks in
the Hundred vara survey were so large that it was found necessary to run
what were called sub-division streets through them. Many of these have
names of no significance, such as Annie, Jessie, Clementina, etc.

NATOMA street, a sub-division street, was originally named Mellus street
for Henry Mellus, Howard's partner; but after the quarrel between the partners
it was changed to Natoma. The name is that of an Indian tribe on the American
river.

HOWARD street was named for W. D. M. Howard.

FOLSOM street was named for Captain Joseph L. Folsom.

HARRISON street was named for Edward H. Harrison, quartermaster's clerk
of First New York volunteers, collector of the port, member of the ayuntamiento,
and member of the firm of DeWitt and Harrison.

BRYANT street was named for Edwin Bryant who succeeded Lieutenant Bartlett
as alcalde of San Francisco. Bryant served in the California battalion
as first lieutenant of company H.

BRANNAN street was named for Elder Samuel Brannan.

BLUXOME street was named for Isaac Bluxome, Jr., a prominent business
man.

TOWNSEND street was named for Doctor John Townsend, a native of Virginia
who came overland with the Stevens party in 1844. He took part in the Micheltorena
campaign as aid to Captain Sutter, was alcalde of San Francisco in 1848,
and member of the ayuntamiento, 1849. He died of cholera in December 1850,
or January 1851.

VALENCIA street was named for the family of José Manuel Valencia,
a soldier of Anza's company.

GUERRERO street was named for Francisco Guerrero. His biography is in
chapter xv.

DOLORES street was named for the mission and contains the mission church.

SANCHEZ street was named for the family of José Antonio Sanchez,
a soldier of Anza's company.

NOE street was named for José de Jesus Noé. A brief biography
of him is given in chapter xv.

CASTRO street was named for the family of Joaquin Isidro de Castro,
a soldier of Anza's company.

The streets of the Potrero Nuevo ("The Potrero") are mostly names of
states for the streets running north and south, and those running east
and west are the continuation of the numbered streets of the Mission Dolores.
The streets in the Potrero Viejo (South San Francisco) were mainly numbered
"avenues" and lettered streets. These names the commission insisted on
changing, giving the following names to the avenues:

ARTHUR ayenue, for Chester A. Arthur, twenty-first president of the
United States.

BURKE avenue, for General John Burke of the Revolutionary army.

CUSTER avenue, for General George A. Custer United States army, killed
in a battle with the Sioux under Sitting Bull, on the Little Big Horn river
in Montana, June 25, 1876.

DAVIDSON avenue, for Professor George Davidson, the eminent scientist
and engineer.

EVANS avenue, for Rear-admiral Robley D. Evans of the United States
navy.

FAIRFAX avenue, for Thomas Fairfax, sixth Baron Fairfax, who became
an American colonist, friend of Washington, and died near Winchester, Virginia,
March 12, 1782.

GALVEZ avenue, for Don José de Galvez, visitador-general of Spain
and member of the council of the Indies, who organized the expedition commanded
by Portolá, 1768-69.

HUDSON avenue, for Henry Hudson, English navigator, discoverer of Hudson
river and Hudson's bay.

INNESS avenue, for George Inness the noted American landscape painter.

J ERROLD avenue, for Douglas William Jerrold, English dramatist and
humorist.

KIRKWOOD avenue, for Samuel J. Kirkwood, war governor of Iowa.

LA SALLE avenue, for Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, French explorer,
discoverer of the Ohio river.

MCKINNON avenue, for Father McKinnon, chaplain of First California volunteers,
Spanish war, who died in the Philippines.

NEWCOMBE avenue, for Samuel Newcombe, the distinguished astronomer.

PALOU avenue, for Fray Francisco Palou, companion of Junípero
Serra, and his historian.

QUESADA avenue, for Gonzalo Ximinez de Quesada, Spanish explorer and
conqueror of New Granada.

REVERE avenue, for Paul Revere, American patriot and hero of the midnight
ride.

SHAFTER avenue, for General William R. Shafter, commander of the United
States army in Cuba.

THOMAS avenue, for General George H. Thomas, "The Rock of Chickamauga."